HOW CLIMATE CHANGE SCORCHED THE NATION IN 2012
National Wildlife Federation I.
Intro- duction
Photo: Flickr/woodleywonderworks Is climate change ruining our summers?
It is certainly altering them in dramatic ways, and rarely for the better. The summer of 2012 has been full of extreme weather events connected to climate change. Heat records have been broken across the country, drought conditions forced the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to make the largest disaster declaration in U.S. history, and wildfires have raged throughout the West. New research by world-renowned climate scientist James Hansen con- firms that the increasingly common extreme weather events across the country, like record heat waves and drought, are linked to climate change.1
This report examines those climate change impacts whose harm is acutely felt in the summer. Heat waves; warming rivers, lakes, and streams; floods; drought; wildfires; and insect and pest infestations are problems we are dealing with this summer and what we are likely to face in future summers.
As of August 23rd, 7 MILLION 2/3 of the country has experienced drought this acres of wildlife habitat and communities summer, much of it labeled “severe” 4 have burned in wildfires2
40 20 60 More than July’s average0 continental U.S. temperature 80 -20 113 MILLION 77.6°F100 people in the U.S. were in areas under 3.3°F above-40 the 20th-century average. 3 5 extreme heat advisories as of June 29 This was the-60 warmest month120 on record 0F
National Wildlife Federation Unfortunately, hot summers like this will occur much more frequently in years ahead. Climate change means far more than hotter weather: as the atmosphere heats up, climate systems are altered in ways that impact forests, lakes, prairies, rivers, wetlands, and other habitats, as well as the communities and wildlife that depend on them. Average water temperatures in streams, rivers, lakes, and oceans are increasing, precipitation patterns are changing, and extreme weather emergencies such as droughts and floods are becoming both more frequent and severe.6
To understand how 2012 represents what we can expect in the future, we must understand how climate change is connected to the weather we are experiencing. A recent scientific study published in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, “Explaining Extreme Events of 2011 From a Climate Perspective”, found that some of the weather extremes around the world have become far more likely because of climate change. For example, climate change made the severe heat wave Texas experienced in 2011 twenty times more likely to occur than it would have been in the 1960s.7 Climate change made this heat wave hotter and last longer. Penn State geosciences professor Richard Alley puts it this way: “Humans have made some extreme weather events more likely, and they are happen- ing. Just as a back-street gambler might beat someone in an honest game but has a better chance with loaded dice, nature might have caused this summer’s weather but we gave it a boost.” 8
By taking action now to reduce the amount of carbon pollution from the nation’s largest sources, and providing support for wildlife-friendly wind, solar, geothermal and biomass energy, we can reduce the impact of a changing climate and power a new clean energy economy for all Americans. If we don’t enact the solutions we have on hand to reduce carbon pollution, wildlife, people, and our summers will suffer.
National Wildlife Federation II. heat
the elderly, poor, and people of color are especially vul- Photo: Flickr/Elvert Barnes nerable to these effects.” 13 Not only are high daytime temperatures dangerous, high nighttime temperatures combined with high humidity put people at risk for heat- related illness and death because their bodies cannot recover from the heat they experienced during the day.14
It is not surprising that a warmer atmosphere High summer temperatures harm agriculture as well. is leading to more severe heat waves.9 Ac- Summer is the growing season for most crops, from cording to scientists from the National Oceanic Atmo- corn to soybeans to blueberries and cherries. Extreme spheric Administration (NOAA), 2010 is tied with 2005 as weather and climate conditions can thwart crop yields, the warmest year of the global surface temperature re- especially if they occur during critical growth or repro- cord. In the contiguous United States, 2010 was the 14th ductive phases of plant growth. Livestock are also sensi- consecutive year with an annual temperature above the tive to high temperatures, which can make it harder for long-term average. Nine of the warmest 10 years on re- them to gain weight, produce milk, and reproduce.15 cord have occurred since 2000, according to the NASA A summertime delight is a bowl of fresh cherries, but an Goddard Institute for Space Studies.10 If current condi- unusual spring heat wave ruined many of Michigan’s fruit tions continue, 2012 will be even hotter. In the United crops this year. Many fruit trees blossomed nearly three States, July 2012 was the single hottest month recorded weeks earlier than normal.16 Then, a sudden end to Michi- since measurements began in the 1890s. As syndicated gan’s warm March followed by overnight freezes in April newspaper columnist Eugene Robinson recently noted, devastated many of the state’s largest fruit farms. The “Welcome to the rest of our lives.”11 USDA’s Michigan field office described the impact as the Heat waves as severe as those we have seen this sum- “worst weather damage to fruit in the state in the past mer are not just unpleasant; they are dangerous to hu- half-century.” Cherries bore the brunt of the heat. Michi- man health. Hot and sunny days with little or no wind gan produced 70.9 percent of the nation’s tart cherries in provide ideal conditions for the build-up of dangerous 2010. The state is expected to harvest a mere 2 million levels of ground-level ozone pollution.12 According to pounds of tarts this year, down from 135 million pounds National Wildlife Federation (NWF) climate scientist Dr. in 2010 and 266 million pounds in 2009, according to the Amanda Staudt, “Global warming is bringing more fre- Michigan Frozen Food Packers Association. Michigan’s quent and severe heat waves, and the result will be seri- apples, peaches, and juice grapes were also harmed by ous for vulnerable populations. That means air pollution the abrupt temperature changes this spring.17 The devas- in urban areas could get worse, bringing increased risk tation to growers, harvesters, wholesalers, and retailers of heart attacks, strokes and asthma attacks. Children, cannot be underestimated or ignored.
National Wildlife Federation Portrait: Flickr/lpwines Photo: Flickr/Jennifer Pack Portrait: Photo: Flickr/Jennifer Flickr/lpwines
Bob Sutherland, owner of Cherry Republic in Michigan, has experienced this crop devastation firsthand. The heat of 2012 has impacted him, his cherry business and the community.
“I have never seen a summer like this before,” said With August being the rush of their summer business, Southerland. “We were really counting on having a Sutherland and his fellow farmers are just barely re- good season to fill back up, as 2012 follows up two pre- acting to what has happened this year, but looking for- vious years that had harvests also below average, and ward, he knows that it is going to be a challenge: now we have nothing left in storage or in the freezer.” “I think climate change has moved this problem [crop As a business, Southerland explains that they have devastation] from a once-a-century to a once-a-de- been unique in trying to be really light about the sever- cade occurrence, and I don’t know where it will end ity of the crop devastation to the customers and to the up—or if it will start happening more often,” said community; they’ve been getting cherries from Poland Southerland. “I don’t know how to get it into people’s and flying the Polish flag in the shop. Cherry Republic heads that they need to change their habits and their has also come to a temporary, year-long “truce” with carbon footprint.” cranberries and are mixing them with cherries to keep prices down. We’re just a cherry company—we “We are already thinking about back-up plans, but it do cherries. We can’t just move is hard; We’re just a cherry company—we do cherries. crops. We can’t just move crops,” said Southerland. “But we have to be prepared for this to happen again.” III. W ARMING WATER Thousands of fish across the United States have already died this summer:
• 1,000 fish, including commercially Vasudev Ram Photo: valuable bass, shad and catfish were found dead in Heron Pond in Ohio. 19
The stench of rotten fish was common across • Nearly 58,000 fish, including 37,000 rural and urban areas alike this summer as sturgeon worth nearly $10 million, fish died by the thousands. Extreme heat caused died along 42 miles of the Des Moines warmer water temperatures, resulting in fatal conse- 20 quences for wildlife. When streams get too warm, oxy- River. gen levels and fish growth rates decline, and fish can be- come more susceptible to toxins, parasites, and disease. • 6,000 gizzard shad and 600 perch If water temperatures stay too warm for too long, a river died in a Delaware lake.21 may become an unsuitable habitat for fish. In general, locales have found that when the average daily air tem- • Fish kills attributable to “hot” water perature in the warmest summer months is greater than were reported in Michigan, Minnesota, 69.8° F the “thermal limit” has been broached for most Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Indiana, and adult salmon, steelhead, and trout species.18 Illinois.22
Northern pike, a cool-water species, are among numer- ous fish species threatened because they are unable to adjust to higher water temperatures sustained for more than a few days. Other species impacted by high- er water temperatures include walleye, yellow perch, and bluegills.23
According to NWF biologist Doug Inkley, “Fish are up a creek without a paddle when the water gets too warm. They are important to the overall health of stream eco- systems, which are suffering in the extreme heat.” Photo: Lori Skelton Lori Photo:
National Wildlife Federation Coral reefs filled with plants and wildlife Warmer water temperatures have a direct impact on fish are sensitive to that simply can’t tolerate the heat, but rising tempera- warming ocean tures also have indirect impacts on fish. Warming water temperatures both holds less oxygen and facilitates the rapid growth of harmful algae. Higher temperatures combined with oxygen depletion can be a quiet killer. Ed Perry, a Penn- sylvania angler, remembers experiencing this “quiet killer” in 2005:
“We’ve had repeat fish kills in Pennsylvania since 2005; that summer, I was out fishing on the Susquehanna Riv- er with my two sons, and we saw hundreds and hun- dreds of small mouth bass floating past us; we didn’t know at the time, but we were seeing the beginning of an annual fish kill.”
And the quiet killer continues in 2012.
When Minnesota experienced heavy rains earlier this summer, voluminous runoff from fertilized areas put high nutrient loads in some Minnesota lakes. A high nu- Photo: Pam Wood trient load combined with hot weather can accelerate the growth of algae. Because algae produces oxygen during the day and uses it at night, too much algae can lead to oxygen depletion in certain parts of a lake (dead zones). Snorkeling allows humans to see a This creates very stressful conditions for fish which can diverse, beautiful underwater world of lead to fish kills.24 The warm water alone won’t do it, but it can cause massive fish kills when combined with oxy- coral reefs teeming with plants and gen depletion. Keith Blomstrom, president of the Minne- wildlife, but unfortunately, rising water sota Conservation Federation, is concerned about what temperatures are threatening this fragile this combination may mean for Minnesota: ecosystem. Because of their delicate
“You can’t drink the water, you can’t chemistry, makeup and structure, fish on the lakes, and no fishing af- coral reefs are extremely vulnerable fects the local bait shop— and the to changes in water temperature and fish kills make the town smell like ocean acidification, both of which are rotten fish—it’s all a trickle-down effect that isn’t connected to climate change.25 getting better,” said Blomstrom. “In fact, from what I have seen it is getting worse—we’re at the tipping point this summer.“ The colorful corals snorkelers seek out are turning white as changes in water temperature stress the polyps, causing them to lose algae that give coral their vibrant color. The increased water temperature of a degree or two, as we Fish have seen in recent decades, is enough to 26 kill in affect these fragile organisms. Ocean June 2012 acidification, caused by the absorption near Beloit, of carbon dioxide also accelerates the Wisconsin breakdown of corals.27 Photo: R Shumaker Flickr/Earl
National Wildlife Federation IV. flooding In June 2012, Tropical Storm Debby made landfall in Florida and impacted hundreds of thousands of people, causing a mandatory evacuation in Pasco County near Photo: Flickr/Lars Plougmann Photo: Flickr/Lars Tampa Bay, between the Anclote and Pithlachascotee rivers. The Anclote River rose from nine feet to more than 27 feet, well above flood stage. This year broke the record for the most named storms so early in the Atlantic season.32 And in August, the 2012 forecast for the number of hurricanes was increased.33 Carbon pollution has also exacerbated flood- ing across the country. Global warming brings more “I find it extraordinary that so many heavy rain events because as the air becomes warmer, it political leaders won’t actually talk about can hold more moisture. In the continental United States, the relationship between climate change, the amount of rainfall occurring in the most intense pre- fossil fuels, our continuing irrational cipitation events has been increasing at a rate of 20 per- exuberance about burning fossil fuels, in cent per 100 years.28 In the Midwest and Northeast, big light of these storm patterns that we’ve been storms that historically would only be seen once every 20 years are projected to happen as often as every 4 to 6 experiencing,” years by the end of the 21st century.29 -Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin, after devastating flooding following Hurricane Irene in 2011.34 Many floodplains and wetlands that absorb floodwaters have been replaced by cities, towns, agriculture, and transportation infrastructure. These investments are at greater risk as they face more extreme rainfall events without natural protections. Indeed, recent rain events Flooding have had significant economic consequences. The Mid- near Duluth, MN west floods in May and June 2008 caused damages of more than $15 billion, just 15 years after the same area was hit by severe flooding. In January 2009, the Pacific Northwest experienced floods that caused $125 million in damage, forced 30,000 people to evacuate, and shut- down major roads and rail services.30 In 2011, unusually heavy rainfall again caused flooding along the Missis- 31
sippi, with damages totaling $3 billion. Photo: Janice Tarvestad
National Wildlife Federation V. drout gh However, when available water from rainfall, rivers, lakes, groundwater, and other sources falls below nor- mal levels, this higher rate of evaporation leads to seri- ous water deficits. As the climate warms, many areas are expected to experience more frequent and severe droughts. In addition, climate projections indicate that some places, including the Southwestern United States, may transition to an even more arid climate on a perma- nent basis over the next century. This problem is not During the summer of 2012, the United limited to the U.S. The fraction of land area con- States has been afflicted with one of the sidered dry has increased over the past few de- worst droughts in its history and the most cades from 15 percent to 25 percent of the globe.39 severe drought in 50 years. The drought is dry- Climate change is modifying the global circulation ing up wetlands, turning Western forests and sagebrush patterns of the atmosphere, resulting in a pole- habitats to tinder, and shriveling crops on farmlands. ward expansion of dry belts.40 This expansion is likely causing areas just adjacent to deserts, such as much In July 2012, the USDA declared a federal disaster area of the Southwest, to become drier. Snow pack has also in more than 1,000 counties, almost one-third of all the been shrinking as more precipitation falls as rain instead counties in the United States, the largest disaster decla- of snow.41 At the same time, snow pack is melting earlier ration ever made by the USDA.35 In August another 218 in the year.42 Both of these trends can cause major water were added to the list, bringing the total to more than shortages in late summer and fall. half the nation’s counties.36 This declaration covered almost every state in the southern half of the con- tinental U.S., from South Carolina to California. At the end of July, about 62 percent of the country Photo: Flickr/Bobbye Johnston was facing “moderate to extreme drought.”37 But even Americans outside the drought-stricken range will feel the effects, especially in their pocketbooks. As our
corn withers, the resulting scarcity is expected to in- A crease pork, beef, egg, and dairy prices by up to 5 per- farmer’s 38 cent in the months ahead. dried up catfish pond in Increases in average temperatures cause increases in Arkansas evaporation, which is not a major concern when normal rainfall exists and ground water sources are abundant.
National Wildlife Federation Primary & Contigous Counties designated under Drought Fast-Track
Report #1a July 11, 2012
C ourtesy of USDA andFSA Photo: Woodward Flickr/Tom
In 2007, the Southeastern U.S. had crop losses due to ensuing agricultural disaster will likely limit the U.S.’s drought estimated at more than $1.3 billion for corn, ability to assist during global disasters, especially food wheat, soybeans, cotton, and hay.43 As bad as 2007 was, crises.46 the summer of 2012 is turning out to be even worse. According to University of Missouri Agronomist William Another result of severe drought is the numerous water Wiebold, “Triple-digit heat with prolonged drought gives use restrictions placed on citizens. This summer, cities in corn farmers very little chance of success. Corn plants Texas, Nebraska, North Dakota and Massachusetts have stop growing at about 95° F and need about 86° F opti- limited how much water residents and businesses are mal temperature for pollination. Nighttime temps need allowed to use. According to Greg Kail with the American to be less than 70° F for the plant to fill corn kernels Water Works Association, “It’s likely that hundreds of after pollination, when pollen from corn tassels falls on utilities across the country are using water restrictions, 47 the silks of each ear of corn. We’ve had days and days of and pretty soon more will be mandatory.” bright sun, low humidity, high winds. That all adds up to rapid evaporation of water. I don’t see any way around this from being a tragedy for our farmers.” 44
While the drought has had a serious negative economic effect in the U.S., it also has grave implications for U.S. diplomacy.45 The U.S. Agency for International Develop- ment’s Food for Peace program has fed billions of people by sending 106 million metric tons of food to the hungry around the world. The program depends on the produc- tivity of American farmers and a strong agricultural sys- tem. On average, American food aid provides 60 percent of the world’s food aid, feeding millions of desperately hungry people every year. This year’s drought and the
National Wildlife Federation VI. w ildfires pronghorn antelope, red-tailed hawks, trout and count- less other species that call the Gila, Lincoln, Arapaho and Roosevelt National forests home are not always Photo: Flickr/USDAgov prepared to deal with the size and frequency of these fires.50 Following the largest wildfire in New Mexico’s history, biologists were forced to capture and relocate the remaining wild populations of the endangered Gila trout to fish hatcheries.51
The devastating wildfires that have ripped Wildfires are not just happening in the Rocky Mountain through the U.S. in recent years paint a viv- states and farther west; Oklahoma has been hit by wild- id picture of how climate change can take fires this summer, and on August 5, crews were fight- something that once was a part of a natu- ing 18 different wildfires across the state, which have ral cycle (fire), make it more powerful, and already burned more than 68,000 acres.52 cause more severe and longer-term damage to people, the landscape and wildlife. Accord- ing to University of Montana ecosystems professor and wild fire expert, Steven Running, “The 100-degree Many heat, drought, early snow pack melt and beetles wak- tranquil ing from hibernation early to strip trees all combined to locations set the stage for the current unusual spread of wildfires saw wildfires in the West.” 48 this summer
Now in the United States, fire seasons are longer be- cause spring snowmelt ends earlier, summer heat builds up more quickly, and higher temperatures last well into the fall. Western forests typically become combustible within a month of when snowmelt finishes and snowpack is melting earlier and earlier.49
For wildlife, more severe and more frequent forest fires mean greater destruction of habitat that may rejuve- nate very slowly or never. Places like New Mexico and Colorado are seeing some of their worst wildfires in his-
tory. The elk, black bears, mountain lions, mule deer, Photo: Gwendolyn Beasley
National Wildlife Federation According to climate scientists, there are many ways climate change increases the risk of forest fires, all of which are relevant to the wildfires we have seen in recent years. These factors are longer fire seasons, drier conditions, more available fuel for forest fires, and increased frequency of lightning.53
• Longer fire seasons: Western forests typically become combustible within a month of the snowpack melting, which is happening one to four weeks earlier than it did 50 years ago. This year, an unusually warm and dry winter resulted in one of the smallest snow packs in Colorado history. As of June 1, the snow pack was only 2 percent of its normal extent.
• Drier conditions: Climate change is expected to bring more frequent and more intense droughts to the Southwest, perhaps shifting the area to a more arid climate. As of the end of May 2012, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas all had areas in the grip of severe and extreme drought.
• More fuel for forest fires: Widespread beetle infestations have left broad swaths of dead and highly combustible trees in their wake. Higher temperatures enhance winter survival of mountain pine beetles and allow for a more rapid lifecycle. Ecologists in Colorado recently confirmed that beetle populations are able to complete two generations during longer, warmer summers, leading to a possible 60-fold increase in the number of beetles.
• Increased frequency of lightning is expected as thunderstorms become more severe. In the western United States lightning strikes could increase by 12 to 30 percent by mid-century and therefore ignite more fires. Both the High Park fire in Colorado and the Whitewater-Baldy Complex Fire in New Mexico were ignited by lightning.
The increased frequency of severe wildfires is a harsh new reality for the firefighters and local governments tasked with responding. They have been struggling to keep up with these longer fire seasons, which in some places are now year round. They are also finding it harder to control fires, in part because nighttime conditions are hotter and drier, meaning that fires can stay active around the clock. Just as human beings benefit from cooling off at night, so too do forests gain a measure of protection from lower nighttime temperatures.
The summer of 2012 was so hot and dry that many state and local governments in Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, Utah, and Wisconsin were forced to cancel their July 4th fireworks displays. The parched landscape com- bined with a stray ember posed too great a fire risk. Additionally, firefighters, especially in the West, were too busy fighting existing wildfires to supervise the celebrations.54 The specifics of climate change’s impact on future summers will vary, but the overall trend is impossible to ignore, and it is headed in only one direction–more extreme summer weather filled with heat waves, droughts, wildfires, and other problems requiring expensive responses.
The cost of wildfire suppression, about $3 billion a year, has tripled in the United States since the late 1990’s. The majority of these expenses are borne by the U.S. Forest Service, which now spends around half of its annual budget fighting fires.
National Wildlife Federation
Photo: Flickr/ Photo: Guard National The
Fire Chief Bob Czerwinski of Pittsfield, Massachusetts and retired smokejumper Joe Gutkoski of Bozeman, Montana, are each experiencing and witnessing these wildfires of 2012; Czerwinski in the northeast and Gutkoski in the west
The wildfires in the Northeast have been more severe “Years like this, it becomes extremely dangerous for the than previously because the conditions [for wildfires] 90 men who work with me. Just because wildfires don’t are perfect. involve a human life, like an apartment building in the city, doesn’t mean we don’t take it seriously,” said Czerwinski. “The woods are brown, people’s lawns are brown, and the lightning storms in the late afternoon are striking in As the wildfire season continues on, both Czerwinski and the middle of the woods where the conditions are just Gutkoski hope for snow in the winter and that “we won’t right for fire to catch,” said Czerwinski. “And when it have another year like this one.” Because Gutkoski knows does rain, it doesn’t help. It is either absorbed too quick- that Montana is in for a troubling future if steps aren’t ly or because it is so dry, it runs off.” taken to prevent global warming from progressing.
And then, these wildfires become dangerous for the first “I believe in global warming and that the earth is getting responders. Retired smokejumper Gutkoski has seen warmer; we’re in for a heck of a future,” said Gutkoski. the impact of this year’s wildfires out west on regional “If it continues to be drier and drier each year like scien- smokejumpers and is worried. tists are predicting, then Montana will just be a desert one day.” “We have August and September to get through, with no prospect of rain alleviating our drought; the fall rain usually puts out our fire season, but I’m afraid the rain has passed us this year,” said Gutkoski. “You hope that it rains, but as a former smokejumper, fighting fires is our Colorado’s job, but occasionally, we get a season like this year: it’s High Park been a very tiresome and busy season, and a lot of hard fire in 2012 work without much rest.”
was caused by Flickr/ Photo: Guard National The Czerwinski agrees. lightning
National Wildlife Federation VI I . istn ec s and pests ability to remove carbon dioxide from the air and re- duce the carbon pollution that causes climate change.
Conversely, the opposite happens: huge quantities of Service Northern Region Flickr/Forest Photo: carbon dioxide are released by beetle-induced death and decay, making forests a carbon source instead of a carbon sink.61 Furthermore, once green and productive A warming climate promotes insect infesta- forests decimated by beetles are left extremely vulner- tions. As temperatures rise, the habitat for able to forest fires, which displace and kill wildlife and fire ants expands northward, mosquitoes put homes and businesses at great risk. increase their disease transmission poten- tial, and grasshoppers arrive earlier and in Recently, bark beetles have killed more trees greater numbers.55 Deer ticks, which carry Lyme than have been destroyed by fire. disease, have been found for the first time on Isle Royale in Lake Superior. The island used to be too cold for deer ticks, but with temperatures rising consistently, that is Another unpopular summer pest is the mosquito, whose no longer the case.56 Warmer conditions have helped potential for disease transmission during summer is a winter tick populations surge in Minnesota, contribut- serious concern. Warming winters associated with cli- ing to a significant decline in the moose population.57 mate change leading up to summer further increase the spread of disease62. The Center for Disease Control re- Perhaps the most ominous example of how climate change minded the public to not forget bug spray this summer and pests are interacting is the saga of the bark beetle, as the mosquito-borne West Nile Virus has intensified one of the U.S.’s scariest, most harmful pests unleashed across the country. Forty-three states have already re- by climate change. Cold snaps during winter normally kill ported West Nile infections in birds, people or mosqui- most of their over-wintering larvae. The warmer winters toes this year, resulting in 26 human deaths.63 Dallas, facilitate beetles reaching unprecedented population Texas, suffering from the deadliest outbreaks this sum- levels killing more than a billion trees across millions of mer, has even resorted to aerial spraying of pesticides acres.58 Recently, bark beetles have killed more trees to kill the mosquitoes transmitting the disease.64 than have been destroyed by fire.59 Forests have been ravaged by these pests, leaving landscapes the color of burnt red and destroying valuable forest products.60
The bark beetle is an example of a destructive cycle not uncommon among climate impacts. When forests are devastated by beetle infestations, they then have less
National Wildlife Federation VIII.
con- clusion
National Wildlife Federation Photo: Flickr/Carl Wycoff T he adverse impacts of climate change are happening right now. Climate change is not only ruining our summer, it is an indication of longer-term consequences. Heat waves, warming water, floods, droughts, wildfires, and insect and pest infestations are the new reality of an ever-warming world. These problems also have consequences that go well beyond the initial damage to the natural world. We need to act now to reduce carbon pollution if we want to preserve our wildlife, farmlands, economies, waterways, oceans, natural heritage, and the character of our special places.
• Support Environmental Protection Agency and Congressional action to limit industrial carbon pollution from power plants, the nation’s largest source of the air pollution that causes climate change, and other big sources;
• Provide support to quickly expand wildlife-friendly wind, solar, geothermal, and biomass energy to power a new clean energy economy for all Americans; and
• Hold fossil fuel industries accountable for the full costs of their pollution, including carbon pollution that is threatening our L earn communities and wildlife. more & act!
www.nwf.org/cleanair 1. Hansen, Kathryn. “Research Links Extreme Summer Heat Events 17. Bomey, Nathan. “Volatile climate tough on Michigan’s fruit to Global Warming.” NASA. 6 Aug. 2012. Web.
National Wildlife Federation Area Ever Due to Drought.” The Atlantic Wire. 12 Jul. 2012. Web. 52. Olafson, Steve. “Cooler temps aid Oklahoma wildfire crews.”
36. “U.S. drought: Half of all counties disaster areas.” CBS News. 53. Staudt, Amanda. “Connecting the Dots: How Climate Change is 1 Aug. 2012. Web.
47. Otwell, Rachel. “Drought May Force Tougher Water Restrictions.” 64. Sickles, Jason. “West Nile Aerial Attack Creates Controversy in National Public Radio. 9 Aug. 2012. Web.
48. Borenstein, Seth. “Summer is ‘What Global Warming Looks 65. Allen, Robert and Dawn Madura. “Moose tranquilized after swim- Like.’” TIME. 3 Jul. 2012. Web
50. Inkley, Doug. “5 Ways Western Wildfires Threaten Wildlife.” Wildlife Promise. National Wildlife Federation. 19 Jun. 2012. Web.
51. Brooks, Jim. “Massive N.M. Fire Threatens Endangered Fish.” National Public Radio. 18 Jun. 2012. Web.
National Wildlife Federation a Auri protect the Photo: Daniel D’ MOOSE As the wildfires caused by global warming blazed across the West this summer, a 700-pound male moose swam across the Horsetooth Reservoir that separates the mountains from Fort Collins, Colorado, as he fled wildfires – only to meet highly populated areas and warmer tempera- tures in the lower elevation city. The moose was one of many animals spotted far from their usual cool habitat in the Colorado mountains, searching for shade, food, and water. 65 Learn more and take action! Inspiring Americans www.nwf.org/cleanair to protect wildlife for our children’s future
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